Dormant

4

And that up there, dear readers, is a drawing that I drew of Death. It's how I envision him to be without his mask and therefore what he looks like in this story.

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. -Psalms 139:14

4

A still silence had drifted about the area. One that was loud, deafening almost, and was one that nothing could escape from. Every single shift of the black ash that coated the ground crackled and popped; even the wind sounded like someone was whispering, taking their long fingers and brushing them against the bare and dying trees, their creaks and moans soft and painful. The overcast was still above everything, blocking any sun and casting everything in a smooth, dying look. Nothing moved besides from the small particles of ash that had managed to be broken away from the rest by the soft breeze.

Somewhere, from the depths of the lake of ash, there was a noise. It was like someone yawning after a long nap, someone who had slept for centuries and was just finally stretching their arms up over their head. Even as it finished, a new breeze, one that wasn't following the first one, was blowing across the ash. A small snap of someone closing their mouth was just audible.

The first sign of movement came from the lake. A hand arose; fingers burst from the surface of the lake, still either ash or coated in it, and reached toward the sky before eventually curling down into its palm. Before long, it had sank back into the lake. Seconds passed. Minutes more passed before the lake moaned once more and something began to arise.

At first glance, it looked like a human. The head was missing; the obvious roll of its shoulders were the only giveaway that the figure was even closely related to the Kingdom of Man. Even then the ash was moving, working and hissing to create the arising creature as it created powerful waves that smashed against the charred beaches. As the creature moved closer to the beach, more features became clear. Two separate, muscular arms became clear as it waded through the ash. Muscles along its shoulders became visible. Hunched, every visible muscle through the thing's chest, back, and arms were clearly visible. And, as the creature continued to approach the beach, it became clear that the beast wasn't human.

It stumbled across the sand made of ash once it reached the shore, falling down to its hands and knees, pulling up its strange legs. Without a head, the beast looked strange. One could almost call it a minotaur; its top half was built more like a human, but the other half was more like an animal, with its double-kneed legs and wide, two-toed feet. Ash still moved along its hide, like blood or a swarm of bugs, and the thing growled deep inside of its chest, the deep rumble echoing for miles.

Convulsing, its arms snapped up to grab and pull at its chest. Desperate fingers pulled and yanked at its chest, ripping away large sections of ash and throwing them down onto the sand. And, instead of seeing muscle and skin underneath, only more ash was there. Eventually the beast stopped, instead performing a silent scream as its body arched upwards. A head grew and eventually burst through the empty space where it should be. Its mouth opened to reveal rows of sharp teeth, horns sprouted from the side of its head, a mane of blackened ash grew in a manner of seconds, a pair of ears growing. Then orange eyes appeared, casting their own eerie orange glow in the dark area.

Slamming down a hand, the beast paused as it caught its breath against the ground. Sounds began to rumble from the beast; its huge breaths would end with a soft growl, the occasional snort blew ash across the beach. But then it was moving again. Its shoulders shook at first and its head bowed down, its mane falling over its head to brush against the ash that it was on.

And then it was laughing.

Laughter continued to rumble through the beast as it stood. The ash that made up the beast was moving even faster now, spinning and swirling with a small humming noise like a horde of bees. The laugh was far from that; a madman couldn't have done better. The beast stumbled a few times as it stood shakingly to its feet before it finally stood erect, standing at exactly eleven feet tall and panting. As if it had been forgotten, a tail appeared then, snapping down to life and whipping across the ash beach.